IWMW – the Annual Event

IWMW, the Institutional Web Management Workshop, celebrates its 20th anniversary on 21-23 June, with the Iwmw 2016 event taking place at Liverpool John Moores University. As is the norm, the event provides a wide range of plenary talks (14 in total) and parallel sessions (18 in total from which participants can  attend 2 sessions).

Recent posts on the IWMW blog have highlighted the benefits participants have gained from previous events. Looking at some of the comments made in six of the xx guest posts published to date:

•  “We have an incredible community. It still amazes me that as a sector we can be so open with each other about our challenges, and so willing to freely share our knowledge”. Duncan Stephen in a post in which he reflects on “What Six Years of IWMW Tells Us About Developments in Digital“.
• “The IWMW is more than a community…it is about the people you meet and the friendships that you form as a result of attending. That is what the IWMW means to me.” Ian St John in a post which describes how “IWMW – More Than Just a Community“.
• “I clearly remember the relief I felt at that time: relief that I was not alone and there were people I could ask for help from, and relief that everyone else seemed to be grappling with many of the issues that I was grappling with.” Rob Bristow in a post looking back at how ““In 1999 I was a freshly fledged World Wide Web Coordinator”“.
• “[We have] fostered a community of like-minded folks, faced the same issues, the same changing tech, the same battles and the same ever-changing Internet landscape”. Sharon Steeples in a post which concludes that “We’ve come a long, long way together“.
• “Lots of knowledge gained and shared; a warm and welcoming community; new friends (now old friends)“. Deborah Fern on “A Brief Encounter”.
• “All right, but apart from the knowledge, information, education, wine, discussion, enthusiasm, contacts and community, what has the IWMW ever done for us?“. Kevin Mears’ answer to the question “What has IWMW done for me?“.

it is interesting to note the strong emphasis which has been placed on the community aspects of the event and the fostering of a strong sense of identify in facing shared challenges.

But the IWMW event only takes place once every year. Wouldn’t in be great if smaller events which reflect the tradition of sharing and learning from one’s peers could be held more frequently.

IWMW In Miniature

A master class session at IWMW 2016 entitled “IWMW In Miniature” will seek to explore such possibilities. As described in the session abstract:

Made use of a good crisis? Increased clickthrough? Survived a reduced budget? Demonstrated ROI? Made a business case? Delighted a user? Improved a pain point?

Based on a successful format seen at Scottish Web Folk, JBoye and elsewhere we will hear from at least 10 organisations about a range of successes and challenges. Each organisation signing up to this session is asked to prepare up to 10 minutes of insight into a recent success or challenge they have faced. We will also be setting aside 5 minutes for questions/further exploration per topic. You can deliver this insight in whatever style suits you best – talk to the group, prepare slides, use props, bring Haribo; the choice is yours. A great, informal chance to discuss issues which matter to you and your organisation with peers; build your network and take back actionable insights to your desk.

To help the session run smoothly, it would be great if you could drop Duncan Ireland, the session facilitator an email ([email protected]) with a sentence or two explaining what you will cover and whether or not you have any particular requirements.

Registration for the IWMW 2016 event is currently open, and places are available for this master class session (code B3).  If you have never attended an IWMW event previously, don’t miss out on this opportunity to experience for yourself what the IWMW bloggers have been writing about! And who knows, if you attend the “IWMW In Miniature” session you may meet up with like-minded folk who would be keen on building on the success of the Scottish Web Folk regional meetings.

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